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Food Safety at Christmas

Avoiding foodborne illness at Christmas will be easy if you remember the 4C’s of keeping food safe. Cook, Clean, Cover, Chill are the actions to keep in mind when preparing and storing food for the Christmas festivities.

Why should I take extra care to keep food safe at Christmas?

There are a number of factors that increase the risk of foodborne illness at Christmas time. First people tend to buy large quantities of food in advance of the holidays in preparation for the celebrations and people tend to cook larger quantities of foods over Christmas, some unfamiliar, for family gatherings. Third, storing leftover food after Christmas lends itself to an increase in bacteria that cause foodborne illness if it’s not done properly. Summer is a particularly hazardous time for foodborne illness with food preparation often moving out of the kitchen to the outdoors for BBQs and picnics. Bacteria multiply faster on food in moist, warm conditions.

Preparing Christmas dinner

Buying:

• If you are buying fresh meat, e.g. a fresh turkey, buy it as close to Christmas as possible, and store it in your fridge straight away

• If you are buying frozen meat, put it in the freezer without delay to ensure it stays frozen.

Storing

• The correct temperature for your fridge is between 1 and 4 degrees Celsius. Use a fridge thermometer to check that your fridge is at the right temperature. Overloading your fridge prevents the cold air from circulating properly and can stop it from working properly.

• Any raw meats should be stored at the bottom of the fridge so that their juices don’t drip on to other foods.

Defrosting

• Make sure you defrost meat thoroughly in the fridge, allowing at least 24 hours for every 4-5 lbs (2-2.5kg) of weight.

• If the meat is fully defrosted and you are not going to use it straight away it should be stored in the fridge.

Cooking

• No matter what you are preparing for Christmas dinner you should make sure that any meat is cooked thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to check that the internal temperature has reached 75 degrees Celsius. At the very least ensure there is no pink meat left and that the juices run clear, not pink.

• If you are cooking stuffing, the safest way to cook it is outside the meat / bird. If, like many people, you prefer to cook it inside, you should prepare it just before cooking, and stuff just the neck region, not the whole cavity. Be careful not to overstuff the bird and allow extra time for cooking. Take the extra weight of the stuffing into account when calculating the cooking time for your meat.

Leftovers

• Leftover meat should be taken off the bone, cut into small pieces and stored in a covered shallow dish and refrigerated within two hours of serving.

• Once refrigerated it should be eaten within three days.

• If you are re-heating food make sure it is steaming hot all the way through.

• Leftover gravy should be stored in the fridge, eaten within two days and reheated until it starts to boil.

More food safety tips for Christmas

• Keeping the 4 Cs; Cook, Clean, Cover, Chill in mind when dealing with food will help reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

• Cook minced meat and sausages thoroughly (meat should not be pink) and cook poultry until juices run clear. Reheat leftovers 'til steaming hot throughout.

• Clean hands (wash and dry them well) before handling food. Clean utensils and scrub chopping boards between preparing raw and cooked food.

• Cover food. The only time food should be uncovered is when you're eating it.

• Chill food. Keep raw and cooked food separate in the fridge. Use a chilly bin and frozen pad outside to keep food cool.

• If you are preparing food for children, the frail elderly, someone who is ill or pregnant, keep in mind that these groups are more susceptible to foodborne illness than others. Extra care should be taken in preparing their food, (especially with dairy products, eggs and seafood.)

• If you are travelling with food, hot food should be wrapped in foil and heavy towels or carried in insulated containers with hot packs. Cold foods should be transported in a cooler with ice or freezer pack so that the food remains at 4 degrees C or lower.

• The most common foodborne illnesses are caused by Norovirus, Salmonella and Campylobacteri. Food poisoning bacteria can contaminate all food so the 4 Cs should be kept in mind even if you are not cooking meats.

The following are approximate cooking times for turkeys in an oven which is at 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F / gas mark 4.

Size of Turkey	Stuffed Turkey	Unstuffed Turkey
8-12lbs/3.5-5.5kg	3hrs20mins-4hrs40mins	3hrs-4hrs20mins
12-14lbs/5.5-6.5kg	4hrs40mins-5hrs20mins	4hrs20mins-5hrs
14-18lbs/6.5-8kg	5hrs20mins-6hrs40mins	5hrs-6hrs20mins
18-20lbs/8-9kg	6hrs40mins-7hrs20mins	6hrs20mins-7hrs
20-24lbs/9-11kg	7hrs20mins-8hrs40mins	7hrs-8hrs20mins

Further information on keeping food safe this Christmas is available at www.foodsafe.org.nz and www.safefood.ie